A Nation of Immigrants: Commemorating the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act and its Legacy in Re-defining American

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Join the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC) and its partners from the National Council on Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), including Asian Americans Advancing Justice, the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA), OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates, and National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC)

In Collaboration with: Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC)

Speakers:
Representative Judy Chu (CA-27), Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) (Invited)
Representative Raul Grijalva (AZ-3) (Confirmed)
Representative Mike Honda, CAPAC Immigration Taskforce Chair (CA-17) (Invited)
Representative Barbara Lee (CA-13) (Confirmed)

Panelists:
Lundy Khoy, SEARAC
Yves Gomes, APALA
More coming...

Snacks to be provided. Click here to RSVP: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/19v1jsz901GEz4BeeoygejaPSn79wiHHvwyY_96fZ7BQ/viewform?usp=send_form

#NationofImmigrants, #RedefineAmerican, #INATurns50
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October 3rd marks the 50th anniversary of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965—landmark legislation abolishing discriminatory national origin quotas that once formed the bedrock of the U.S. immigration system. This law opened the door to immigrants from non-European countries and their family members, and fundamentally shifted the definition of American. Today, a growing number of immigrants from Asia, Africa and Latin America enter the country in unprecedented numbers, making the United States a uniquely diverse nation. Asian Americans and Latino Americans continue to be the fastest growing racial groups in the country, having increased by 2.9% and 2.1%, respectively, since 2012.

However, while the Immigration Act of 1965 ushered in a time of tolerance and acceptance, the United States has grown increasingly xenophobic and distrustful of many of the same immigrants that were once welcomed at our borders. Divisive rhetoric has fueled the mass incarceration and deportation of refugee communities, the detention of asylum seekers, the strengthening of barriers to forms of immigration relief, and the growing cooperation between local law enforcement and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement to raid and deport families. 
Additionally, the country’s broken immigration system continues to keep families separated for decades, and it offers only limited paths to legalization for millions of undocumented men, women and children.

The Asian American and Latino American community remembers the hope and the promise of the Immigration Act of 1965. We invite lawmakers and community members to do the same by standing up against the enforcement of immigration laws that criminalize struggling communities. And similar to what the Immigration and Nationality Act aimed to do 50 years ago, we demand a fair and socially just immigration system that continues to value the hard work and contributions of immigrant families.